Miles Routledge | |
|---|---|
 Routledge in 2024 | |
| Born | Birmingham, England |
| Occupations |
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| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Subscribers | 173,000 |
| Views | 8.6 million |
| Last updated: 6 June 2025 | |
Miles Routledge, also known asMiles Arthur Le-Vesconte Routledge,[1] orLord Miles on social media, is an EnglishYouTuber, adventurer andwar tourist. He is known for being adanger tourist inAfghanistan during theFall of Kabul, and being detained by theTaliban'sGeneral Directorate of Intelligence on a third visit to Afghanistan from 2 March 2023[2] until October 2023.[3]
Routledge worked part time as ahairdresser while a teenager.[4][5] He has said he was briefly homeless inBirmingham.[6] As of August 2021, he was studying physics atLoughborough University.[7]
In March 2021 he began planning a trip to Afghanistan.[8]
On 13 August 2021 Routledge arrived inKabul from Turkey,[9][10] with a return flight scheduled for 19 August.[11] Due to theongoing Taliban offensive theFCDO had advised against all travel to the whole country, and urged British nationals in Afghanistan to leave immediately.[12] Routledge said in a4chan post on 14 August that "the intelligence agencies show that the capital may be taken over in 30 days; however not in a few days [...] Also if I get proven wrong and die, edit a laughing soundtrack over my posts. It'll be funny I think."[13]
The city was taken by Taliban forces on 15 August,[9] and Routledge described himself as being in a "bit of a pickle"; Routledge's posting about the experience on 4chan,Facebook andTwitch gained attention.[8] He became known by the nickname "Lord Miles" after posting about a £15lordship certificate he had earlier obtained online, which he had used to get the title "Lord" on a credit card (despite not being a member of British nobility) after he "talked a good game" at a bank.[13] Routledge said that he believed the Taliban might see the honorific and believe he was "valuable enough to negotiate an exchange".[13]
In an interview withThe Times, he said that he had "accepted death", explaining that "there was no convincing me otherwise and I knew the risks".[14] While some people had started raising money to help him escape the country, Routledge suggested instead that they give to charity;[13] on Facebook, he asked followers to focus their concern on others at risk from the events, including the tour guide who led him to safety (saying that "his only crime is going the extra mile and saving my life, I can never repay him and that saddens me").[13]
By 15 August Routledge said that theBritish embassy in Kabul had not responded to his calls or emails, and that he was "fully prepared for death", saying that "this trip has been a test of God. I'm very religious so I believe I'll be looked after";[15] he later found refuge in a safehouse[15] On 16 August a spokesman for theForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office said that it was "aware of this case and [was] attempting to reach the individual to offer assistance".[8] On 17 August Routledge was evacuated toDubai.[16]
In November 2021 Routledge signed a publishing contract withAntelope Hill Publishing to recount his fall experience during the fall of Afghanistan.[17] His bookLord Miles In Afghanistan was released December 2022.[18][19]
Routledge departed for a third holiday to Afghanistan in late February 2023, and was apprehended by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence on 2 March 2023.[2] The GDI also apprehended a volunteer medic named Kevin Cornwell and an unidentified hotel manager, both British citizens.[20] Routledge was released from Taliban custody in October 2023.[3]
Routledge has made many racist comments on the social media platformTwitter targeting Indians beginning in August 2024, and has also joked about nuking India.[21][22] After hisAirPods were stolen and found in Pakistan, Routledge blamed Indians for stealing them, accusing them of being thieves and insulting them for being cow worshippers.[23]